HOLLYWOOD BY A DIFFERENT NAME
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HOLLYWOOD BY A DIFFERENT NAME
Martyn Best , our inside man and Associate Director at Tranmere Rovers Football Club , shares a strange connection .
Football makes many connections , and who would have thought that the closest neighbours of Tranmere Rovers would have Hollywood investors and be featured on Netflix .
Let us not be downhearted at all though , as rather bizarrely , two of the club ’ s Associate Directors own two of the leading independent professional wrestling promotions in the UK and USA .
Hollywood stars The Rock and Dave Bautista , and Hulk Hogan , Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy are all household names from the world of professional wrestling and they retain a fondness with not just wrestling fans but have crossed the cultural boundaries , whether into films , or just a warm memory from your Gran .
These links continue with Best and Lee McAteer owning the UK ’ s leading wrestling company PROGRESS , and also DEFY of Seattle , who collectively have helped develop the careers of today ’ s WWE and AEW stars Gunther ( current WWE World Heavyweight Champion ), Swerve Strickland ( recent AEW World Champion ), Pete Dunne ( former PROGRESS Champion and WWE UK Champion ), and Toni Storm ( who actually does have a Liverpool born
Grandmother and was PROGRESS ’ s first ever Women ’ s Champion ).
Best , when asked about this involvement declared , “ Yes , it ’ s a bit odd , but the attraction to becoming involved was seeing the real affection that wrestling is held in , and the loyalty that the fans have . Very much like football , you ’ re not going to change your interest or your club easily , and the joy that the fans demonstrate to all of our wrestling shows and activity beyond that is really amazing .
“ The two businesses have a lot of similarities with the need to entertain and provide value for money , and behind the public face of either footballers or wrestlers , there are always some fascinating characters .”
Breaking the boundaries of the sport of football also gives the fans an extra dimension to think about , and it ’ s fairly clear that Wrexham fans are very excited , even if they will not be too bothered over Tranmere ’ s current Hollywood connections , and whilst the Rovers may not be getting ready to rumble , the promising start of the new football season seems to be showing that they might be getting ready to be promoted . wirrallife . com 17